NO. 18 TIGERS CRUISE THROUGH CCAC QUARTERFINALS WITH 8-2 WIN OVER SXU

BOURBONNAIS, Ill – The No. 18 Olivet Nazarene University men's soccer team advanced to the CCAC Tournament Semifinals with an 8-2 win over the eighth-seeded Saint Xavier Cougars Friday night. The Tigers scored seven unanswered goals in the first half which included a hat trick from Konstantin Papanikolaou, three assists from Max Jasper, and a brace and assist from Benjamin Strubelt all in the first period.

With the wind at their backs, the ONU offense went off to score eight goals in the first 45 minutes of play. Papanikolaou opened his account in the 13^th minute of play taking advantage of a half step from his defender to place his shot far post. Eight minutes later, Alexis Mancera hit a laser from the top of the box to double the Tigers' advantage. Papanikolaou scored his second in the 24^th minute with the assist credited to Maarten Gravekamp. Four minutes later, Justin Eisenmann and Strubelt combined for the junior attacker to record his team-leading 11^th goal of the season. Strubelt joined the scorers with two goals before the intermission and Papanikolaou completed his hat trick in the 43^rd minute of play.

Halftime: No. 18 Olivet Nazarene 8, Saint Xavier 0

Eric Anderson registered the first goal of his career on Senior Night. The Aurora, Ill. native received a pass from Unla Husseini leading the senior to knife through the Cougar defense and beat the SXU netminder at the 59:01-mark. 20 different Tigers recorded minutes in the match with Leonard Bewig seeing his first action of the season coming off an injury. Saint Xavier scored twice in the last 25 minutes of play but Olivet rode out the win to advance in the CCAC Tournament with a matchup with the fourth-seeded Holy Cross Saints.

GAME VITALS

Final: No. 18 Olivet Nazarene 8, Saint Xavier 2

Records: Olivet Nazarene: 14-1-3 (9-0-3 CCAC) | Saint Xavier 5-10-3 (4-6-2 CCAC)

Location: Snowbarger Athletic Complex | Olivet Nazarene University | Bourbonnais, Ill.

QUICK HITS

• Eisenmann and Papanikolaou are both tied for the most goals in the conference with 11 each.
• Kilian moves to second place in the conference with 8 assists with Jasper in fourth with 7.
• Seven is the most goals scored in a single half by ONU all season.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Tigers now host the fourth-seeded Holy Cross Saints in the CCAC Tournament Semifinal. The match will be played at Snowbarger on Tuesday Nov. with the kickoff to be determined. Please visit onutigers.com for all the links to follow along.

—ONU—

*Contact: Patrick Kaindl, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, pkaindl@olivet.edu